Complete list of press releases

The Biden Administration released a new advisory today directing pipeline operators to provide detailed plans for minimizing harmful methane emissions from their systems and operations by the end of the year.

“The administration’s announcement is confirmation that President Biden is serious about delivering on his commitment to cut methane emissions,” said Elizabeth Gore, Senior Vice President for Political Affairs. “The advisory is crystal clear that pipeline operators must detail before the end of this year how they plan to minimize emissions from their facilities. Methane from oil and gas operations and other activities is responsible for approximately 25% of current global warming, and PHMSA’s announcement today is an important first step to reduce pipeline methane emissions. Acting Administrator Brown clearly is moving the Agency forward to meet its new environmental responsibilities, which will help the administration meet its ambitious climate goals, while also protecting public safety.”

The Advisory, released today from DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), is based on the PIPES Act of 2020 that passed with bi-partisan majorities last December. The Act contains explicit new requirements that elevate environmental responsibilities in PHMSA’s mission. The Act directs PHMSA to develop standards for the use of advanced leak detection to find and fix leaks in gathering, transmission, and local distribution pipelines— a directive that will be the subject of a new rulemaking that is now underway at the Agency.

PHMSA is also expected soon to finalize new standards for the 400,000 miles of natural gas gathering lines that are currently unregulated at the federal level.

“Environmental Defense Fund applauds Representative DeLauro for introducing the Toxic Free Food Act of 2021. The bill would direct FDA to fix the most significant flaws with the agency’s Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) Rule that allows companies to secretly decide on the safety of chemicals in our food – without the agency’s review or the public’s knowledge. This is a critical step to improving transparency and ensuring toxic food chemicals do not harm our health. 

“Specifically, the bill would require: 

• Companies to notify the agency about new uses of GRAS substances;
• Companies to secure agency approval for newly synthesized and novel chemicals; and
• FDA to establish a Food Advisory Committee – which was shut down by the Trump Administration – to obtain guidance from key stakeholders.

“Thank you, Rep. DeLauro, for taking action that can help everyone have greater confidence in the safety of our food. We encourage members of Congress to support this bill.” 

Today, a group of health, environmental, and consumer organizations sent a formal petition to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ban all PFAS (per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances) that accumulate in the body. 

A Freedom of Information Act request response recently revealed that FDA described serious health concerns with the use of certain “short chain” PFAS in correspondence with PFAS manufacturers, and said that the companies needed to provide evidence that the chemicals were safe to continue using them. The agency then rejected an offer from one company to conduct additional studies within two years because that would take too much time in light of the chemicals’ risks. Despite this, the FDA soon after accepted a separate industry proposal for all manufacturers to have five years to voluntarily phase out the unsafe PFAS.

There is extensive PFAS contamination across the US due to widespread use of the chemicals in many industries, in firefighting foam, in household products, food packaging and more. Scientific evidence demonstrating harm to health, particularly children’s health, from the chemicals is overwhelming. This has resulted in an outcry for action on the chemicals often spearheaded by communities that are dealing with contamination – and significant progress at the state-level.  

FDA-approved PFAS are a major contributor to this problem. The chemicals are used in many food applications, including to provide water and grease resistance to paper and paperboard that comes into contact with food. They are commonly found in takeout containers, plastic bottles, disposable bowls and plates in addition to popcorn bags, pet food bags and more. 

The petition was filed by Environmental Defense Fund, Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, Center for Environmental Health, Center for Food Safety, Consumer Federation of America, Consumer Reports, Defend Our Health, Environmental Working Group, Green Science Policy Institute, Healthy Babies Bright Futures, and League of Conservation Voters.

FDA has not done enough when it comes to protecting the public from PFAS, and the few actions it has taken have been inadequate and, often, after years of delay. The agency has acted in a piecemeal way, phasing out some varieties of PFAS but still approving new ones for food, all while the evidence accumulates showing the chemicals build up in our bodies and are linked to cancer, immunological, reproductive, and developmental harm. Advocates are now asking the agency to take decisive steps on this class of chemicals. 

The petition requests that the FDA revoke all approvals for use of the chemicals in food and food packaging and issue a regulation banning them unless there is evidence that the use is safe. This is necessary not only due to the known danger of many varieties of PFAS, but also the FDA’s inadequate actions thus far on the chemicals. The agency should stop assuming these chemicals are safe and conduct thorough assessments of health and environmental impacts.   

“FDA needs to shut the door, permanently, on PFAS in food and food packaging,” said Dr. Maricel Maffini, scientist and coauthor of the petition. “The agency has a poor track record when it comes to evaluating the safety of these chemicals and taking action. We think it’s past time for the FDA to follow the science and put the public’s health first.”

“Given the evidence linking PFAS to numerous health harms, including breast cancer, it is imperative for the FDA to step up and start protecting our health”, said Lisette van Vliet, Senior Policy Coordinator at Breast Cancer Prevention Partners. “Allowing the continued use of these chemicals in food packaging is unacceptable.”

“There is no excuse for the FDA to continue allowing millions of Americans to be exposed to toxic PFAS in food packaging and foodware, especially when safer alternatives are available,” said Sue Chiang, Pollution Prevention Director, Center for Environmental Health. “The FDA needs to turn off the tap to toxic PFAS. We all deserve access to toxic free food that doesn’t harm people across the product lifecycle from workers, to consumers, to fenceline communities disproportionately impacted by irresponsible disposal practices.”

“Americans are routinely exposed to PFAS ‘forever chemicals,’ which are pervasive in food packaging and may be toxic at very low levels,” said Dr. Michael Hansen, PhD, senior scientist at Consumer Reports. “We need action by the FDA to ensure the public is protected and not unwittingly consuming these dangerous substances in the food they eat.” 

“While states like Maine, Washington, Vermont, and New York have already taken action to eliminate PFAS from food packaging, the FDA has done little to address the clear hazards PFAS poses,” said Patrick MacRoy, Deputy Director of Defend Our Health. “We hope this petition will provide the impetus for the new administration at FDA to finally provide the Federal leadership desperately called for.”

“The FDA has understood the risks of PFAS since the 1960s but failed to act,” said Scott Faber, Senior Vice President for Government Affairs for the Environmental Working Group. “The evidence linking PFAS to cancer and harm to the reproductive and immune systems has only grown stronger, but the FDA has still refused to protect us. There is no better example of FDA’s broken food chemical review system than the presence of toxic forever chemicals in food packaging. If the FDA once again puts the chemical companies ahead of our health, Congress should simply ban PFAS from food packaging.”

“Persistent chemicals linked to health harm have no place in our food packaging,” said Tom Bruton, PhD, Senior Scientist at Green Science Policy Institute. “FDA should swiftly and transparently revoke approvals for the short-chain PFAS that its own scientists have found are unsafe.”

“There should be no place in the U.S. food supply for toxic chemicals like PFAS that persist in the bodies of pregnant women and children,” said Jane Houlihan, Research Director of Health Babies Bright Futures. “All babies deserve a clean, healthy start in life, free of toxic chemicals that put their healthy development at risk. FDA should help make that a reality.”

“It’s long past time for the federal government to protect our families from dangerous PFAS chemicals once and for all,” said Madeleine Foote, Deputy Legislative Director, LCV. “PFAS contamination is an equity issue – the FDA has a responsibility to protect the health of our communities, particularly communities of color and low-income communities who may be exposed to higher levels of these toxic ‘forever chemicals.’”

This is a formal petition the agency is required by law to answer within 180 days. The petition makes the case that the FDA is leaving people’s health in jeopardy by allowing dangerous PFAS to come into contact with food.  

(June 2, 2021) Environmental Defense Fund joined more than 100 experts and concerned citizens from around the country today to urge the Environmental Protection Agency to reverse the Trump administration’s unlawful attack on California’s long-standing authority to set greenhouse gas and zero-emission vehicle standards for cars, trucks and SUVs.

The Clean Air Act directs EPA to grant California a waiver of federal preemption to set more protective standards for vehicular air pollution, and allows other states to adopt California’s standards. In 2013, EPA granted a waiver for California’s greenhouse gas and zero-emission vehicle standards. Then in 2019, the Trump Administration took the unprecedented and unlawful step of revoking that waiver.

This April, EPA proposed to reverse the Trump action and reinstate the waiver for California’s Advanced Clean Car standards. EDF senior attorney Alice Henderson testified for EDF today at the agency’s public hearing on the proposal.

“Reversing that action is an important step toward reducing the air pollution burden that disproportionately impacts low-income communities and communities of color, and toward avoiding some of the immense damage that climate change will continue to inflict on human health, the economy, and our environment,” said Henderson in her testimony.

California has served as a testing ground for innovation in emissions control because of its protective standards. The state’s programs have incentivized the development of technologies that have been deployed across the world. California’s Air Resources Board is now considering proposing new multipollutant standards that would ensure all new cars sold in the state are zero-emitting vehicles by 2035. EDF estimates that action would prevent more than 7,400 premature deaths by 2050, and eliminate 1.2 billion tons of climate pollution from our air.

“The Trump administration’s attack on state authority under the Clean Air Act was unlawful and undermines a vital tool that Congress granted to states to protect us from vehicular air pollution,” said Henderson in her testimony. “EDF respectfully urges EPA to swiftly finalize its reconsideration and reinstate the waiver so that California can resume its traditional role in setting vehicle emission standards – including greenhouse gas standards – that move the whole country forward.”

You can read Henderson’s full testimony here.

(WASHINGTON – June 2, 2021) Today, Environmental Defense Fund announced it formed a high-level advisory council made up of leading experts from multiple countries who will focus their attention on accelerating technological progress toward greater ocean conservation, ecosystem health and sustainable marine fisheries.

The Oceans Technology Solutions Advisory Council is the first of its kind, dedicated to reimagining how technology can be developed, deployed and scaled in order to bring about triple bottom line results to tackle some of the most pressing environmental challenges facing our oceans.

The members of the OTS Advisory Council are:

· Esteban Donoso – National Deputy Director, Sernapesca, Chile

· Miguel Jorge – Former Senior Fisheries Specialist, World Bank

· Michele Kuruc – Vice President, Oceans Policy, World Wildlife Fund U.S.

· Emilie Litsinger – Senior Director, Indonesia and Philippines, EDF

· Masa Miyahara – Former President, Fisheries Research Agency of Japan

· Dennis Moran – President, Fishermen’s Finest

· Mark Schrope – Director, Schmidt Marine Technology Partners

· Shah Selbe – Founder, Conservify

· John Virdin – Director, Ocean and Coastal Policy Program, Duke Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions

The OTS Advisory Council will work with EDF and its partners on the role of technology in fisheries management, food security, livelihoods, conservation and climate change impacts to our oceans. The outputs from the group will help inform global policy, strategic investment and the role of civil society in using technology to help solve problems, particularly in historically disadvantaged communities — those experiencing the greatest burdens of environmental harm, economic inequality and climate change.

“We’re very excited about the creation of the OTS Advisory Council because of the significant contribution we know the members will make in the global understanding of how we can leverage the benefits of technological progress for better ocean health, food security and economic well-being,” said Christopher Cusack, acting director of EDF’s Oceans Technology Solutions team.

Initially, the advisory council will set their sights on solving large, difficult challenges such as how low-cost technologies can help to incentivize small-scale fisheries to rebuild overfished stocks in the absence of effective regulation and enforcement. “Ultimately, if any new technology is to be successful, it requires people to understand its benefits and begin to adopt it,” said Dr. John Virdin, an OTS Advisory Council member.

To provide a foundation for the council’s work, today EDF released a comprehensive landscape analysis of the application of new and emerging technologies for sustainable fisheries. The report details a range of transformative technologies and how they are being applied on the water for compliance monitoring, stock productivity and oceanographic observing to understand climate-related changes in ocean health.

“Tech is only going to get better, and there are already a lot of smart folks in other industries who are and have built the kind of technology needed in fisheries,” said Shah Selbe, an expert in designing field-ready technology for conservation and an OTS Advisory Council member. “It’s just a matter of connecting them and creating the funding mechanisms so systems are implemented in the right way, resulting in a positive user experience which can be scaled.” 

Today, Representatives Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX) and Kelly Armstrong (R-ND) introduced the Revive Economic Growth and Reclaim Orphaned Wells (REGROW) Act of 2021 to eliminate environmental hazards from old and leaking oil and gas wells and support tens of thousands of jobs. This bill, a mirror to the Senate counterpart, makes more than $4.6 billion in federal funding available to federal agencies, states and tribes to plug and remediate orphaned oil and gas wells.

There are more than 56,000 documented inactive orphaned wells with no responsible party for cleanup across the U.S. potentially causing local environmental hazards to groundwater and emitting methane and other harmful pollution. Plugging, or permanently sealing, these wells creates an important environmental benefit while stimulating local economies.

“The introduction of the REGROW Act in the House is an important demonstration of bipartisanship that supports local economic development and addresses environmental hazards. EDF applauds Representatives Fletcher and Armstrong for introducing this bill and appreciates the variety of legislative solutions on the table to create jobs and protect local communities from air, water and climate pollution by addressing the orphan wells crisis in America. More than 100,000 oil and gas workers have lost their jobs in the past year and this effort will put people back to work while creating a healthier environment. “This bill will ensure every documented orphan well in the U.S. is plugged. It will also help identify and catalogue the hundreds of thousands of other improperly abandoned wells across the country. And it will ensure that when wells are plugged, they are plugged properly. This is an important piece of the overarching reforms – including reforms to bonding and other policies that prevent wells from becoming orphaned in the future – needed to reduce the environmental impact of the oil and gas industry.”

• Elizabeth Gore, Senior Vice President for Political Affairs

“President Biden’s budget request marks a welcome return to science-based policymaking that will jumpstart bold climate action, create jobs and advance environmental justice. Environmental programs that were under attack by the previous administration receive funding increases in Biden’s proposal, enabling them to better protect every community throughout the country. The proposal ensures critical environmental protections to help bridge the gap in communities that are impacted first and worst by air pollution. And the president has also placed a strong emphasis on innovation by calling for investments in research, development, and deployment programs connected to climate science, clean energy, and new and emerging technologies. This funding will drive the development of a clean energy future with new, zero-emission technologies, protect the health of American families, and move us closer to our goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.

This budget sets a course for an impactful, whole-of-government approach to the climate crisis. Congress now has an opportunity to continue this climate-forward work by approving the President’s budget proposal and enacting these critical climate investments.”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is formally removing the text of the dangerous Trump-era Censored Science Rule from the books. The action implements a federal court decision from earlier this year striking down the rule after Environmental Defense Fund and its partners filed suit.

“The Censored Science Rule would have undermined EPA’s vital mission to ensure that families in every community across America are protected from dangerous pollution and toxics,” said EDF senior attorney Ben Levitan. “EPA can now fulfill its legal obligation to develop public health and environmental protections without this unlawful roadblock that the Trump administration tried to leave behind.”

The Censored Science Rule would have impeded EPA’s ability to protect public health and the environment by fundamentally undercutting the ways in which the agency may have considered scientific evidence. It would have restricted EPA’s ability to use rigorous, peer-reviewed medical research for which underlying data are not publicly available – even when legal and ethical rules, like medical privacy laws, would have prohibited making that data public.

EDF partnered with Montana Environmental Information Center and Citizens for Clean Energy to file a lawsuit against the Censored Science Rule in January. The litigation resulted in a federal district court in Montana overturning the Censored Science Rule on February 1 – just weeks after the rule was finalized.

EPA is now upholding the court’s decision by removing the text of the Censored Science Rule from the Code of Federal Regulations. The agency’s removal of the Censored Science Rule will be published in the Federal Register on Wednesday, June 2.

(WASHINGTON, DC — May 27, 2021) Sen. Ron Wyden’s Clean Energy for America Act cleared the Senate Finance Committee last night. The bill would create a system of emissions-based incentives to create unprecedented growth in clean power, clean transportation and energy efficiency, as well as incentivize domestic manufacturing.

“EDF is pleased to see Sen. Wyden’s innovative legislation move forward. This plan would reset and reorient the tax code, putting a premium on clean power and clean transportation and leveling the playing field for all types of fuel. These policies are a cornerstone of President Biden’s urgently needed American Jobs Plan that will create jobs and put the country on a path toward net-zero climate pollution by 2050.

“We appreciate Sen. Wyden’s bold leadership, and thank all of his colleagues who voted to advance this bill forward.”

Among the bill’s highlights:

• Simplify the tax code by consolidating over 44 energy-related tax provisions into just three - clean electricity, clean transportation and energy efficiency.
• Provides an Investment or Production tax credit for zero-emission power sources until the electric sector has reduced emissions by 75% from 2021 levels.
• New Investment tax credits for transmission and standalone energy  storage that would allow the grid to handle increasing amounts of clean energy.
• Additional incentives for building renewable energy sources in low-income communities, which have been disproportionately affected by fossil fuel pollution for generations.
• Refundable tax credits for consumers that purchase electric vehicles.
• Tax credits for charging infrastructure.
• New tax credits to reduce the cost of heavy and medium-duty electric vehicles.
• Tax credits to advance clean energy manufacturing.

“The nation and the environment have lost a great defender with the passing of Senator John Warner. Senator Warner showed us how politics could be – civil, bipartisan, principled. He was willing to join with those he disagreed with if it meant progress for our common future.

“He put country over party especially when he saw consequences for his children and grandchildren. For two decades he served on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and was a key co-sponsor of the historic 1990 Clean Air Act amendments, which did so much to bring about a healthier future for us all. In 2007, John worked across the aisle and with EDF on the Climate Security Act to put the country on a path to a cleaner future.

“Since his retirement from the Senate, he repeatedly used his influence to advance the cause of environmental protection. His guidance was invaluable as we worked to make progress in and out of Washington, DC. John Warner never failed to answer the call, willing to use the enormous respect he earned to further the search for climate solutions. He will be greatly missed.”

In a milestone win for the climate and a breakthrough for investor accountability, ExxonMobil shareholders today elected at least two of the four ExxonMobil board candidates nominated by activist investors, with the election of the remaining seats still too close to call. In response, Environmental Defense Fund president Fred Krupp issued the following statement:

“The business case for the clean energy transition has never been clearer. Today’s vote sends the unmistakable signal that climate action is a financial imperative and leading investors know it. This is a watershed moment for the oil and gas industry and leading investors: It is no longer tenable for oil companies like ExxonMobil to resist calls to align their business strategies with a decarbonizing economy.

“This moment is not just about ExxonMobil or even about energy companies. It is about major asset managers and other big investors stepping up, making their voices heard, and walking the walk — connecting the dots between their climate rhetoric and their actions. Credit goes to BlackRock, Legal and General, CalSTRS and others for aligning their proxy voting with their climate pledges.

“This kind of mainstream investor support for climate action is a game changer in the battle to urgently reduce emissions, minimize financial risk and protect communities. The message is clear – climate change is a board level priority because the response is existential for carbon intensive companies. And climate action brings financial rewards.

“As we saw today, doing right by shareholders means assembling a qualified board that’s fit to help companies rise to the challenges and opportunities of the net zero transition.

“Now, Exxon’s new directors – and the entire board – have an important responsibility to help the company transform its approach to the climate crisis and energy transition. The test of the enhanced board will be its ability to get ExxonMobil aligned with a net zero transition in the months to come – with a credible business strategy backed by climate targets, dollars, and policy advocacy.

“Four rapid-fire events make this a watershed moment:

“First, the International Energy Agency on May 18 issued an urgent call for no new oilfield development and rapid transition away from petroleum-powered transportation.

A day later, Ford unveiled its new all-electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck — the first zero-emission version of America’s most popular vehicle, and the first that won’t be needing ExxonMobil’s products.

And today brought two more: A Dutch court ruling that Royal Dutch Shell must slash greenhouse gas emissions much farther and faster than it had planned. And the resounding vote for change at ExxonMobil.

“When the history of how we turned back the worst impacts of climate change is finally written, these rapid-fire events will loom large.”

- Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense Fund 

(Washington, DC – May 24, 2021) President Biden announced today an increase in funding to FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program to better confront the threats posed by extreme weather across the country. 

The following is a statement from Eric Schwaab, Senior Vice President, Ecosystems and Oceans and a former administrator of the National Marine Fisheries Service at NOAA under the Obama administration:

“President Biden today took bold climate action to help communities better meet the risks posed by disasters and build long-term resilience. Pre-disaster investments save money and lives. FEMA’s BRIC program has already made significant progress, but the demand for this funding far exceeds what the agency has allocated to date. 

“Our country is increasingly being ravaged by extreme weather, threatening the safety of communities, the health of entire ecosystems and the strength of our economy. With stronger hurricanes and sea level rise on our coasts, inland flooding from excessive rainfall across the country, and droughts and wildfires throughout the West, no place in America is untouched by climate change impacts.     

“Extreme weather does not affect all communities equally, so President Biden is right to dedicate significant funding specifically to traditionally underserved communities disproportionately impacted by climate disasters. We also encourage President Biden to work with Congress to prioritize natural infrastructure to increase flood resilience and provide communities with additional ecosystem and social benefits, such as improved water quality, wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities. 

“We need to act now, before the next disaster, to reduce risks and invest in solutions like natural infrastructure and climate adaptation measures to build resilience for all communities.” 

• Eric Schwaab, Senior VP, Oceans and Ecosystems

Background: Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) is a federally administered program through FEMA that directs funding to states, tribes, local communities and territories to implement pre-disaster mitigation projects. Biden also announced that he would dedicate 40% of BRIC funding to traditionally-underserved areas that often experience the brunt of climate change and extreme weather. The announcement comes ahead of what forecasters are predicting to be an above-average Atlantic hurricane season and following last year’s most active hurricane season ever recorded. FEMA launched the BRIC program in 2020, originally allocating $500 million in grants after receiving $3.6 billion in applications.

“Climate change poses serious risks to our financial system. Increasing wildfires, droughts and severe weather threaten the stability of the home mortgages, insurance policies, and small business and farm loans that underpin the U.S. economy. Unprecedented warming jeopardizes everything from our retirement plans to our municipal bonds. It is a danger to businesses, investors, and the American public.

“President Biden’s executive order today will lift the veil from these risks, which are often hidden within financial systems. It creates a government-wide strategy to quantify the risks posed by climate change for both public and private financial assets. This will enable agencies from the Treasury Department to the Labor Department to the  Federal Insurance Office to start determining ways to minimize climate-related financial risks.

“There is more we’ll need to do. We need mandatory disclosure of climate-related risks from businesses and financial institutions, for example. Right now, investors lack crucial information they need to make the best choices. We also need to put a price on carbon, as the Commodity Futures Trading Commission recommended last September.

“The most expensive thing we can do about the climate crisis is ignore its risks. Today’s executive order is a big step toward making the existing financial risks of climate change known, predicting future risks, and unlocking policy solution that will help us take action.”

- Nat Keohane, Senior Vice President for Climate, Environmental Defense Fund

“The D.C. Circuit rules on cases of nationwide significance under the Clean Air Act and other environmental statutes that were forged by Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike. Its rulings have a profound impact on public health and environmental protection for all Americans.

“We are pleased to see the Senate Judiciary Committee moving swiftly to fill vacancies on the D.C. Circuit, including its bipartisan vote today to send the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the full Senate. Our nation needs a fully-staffed D.C. Circuit to ensure the faithful execution of our nation’s vital clean air, water and public health laws for the people of the United States.”

- Vickie Patton, EDF General Counsel

“The use of high-integrity sustainable aviation fuels is critical to reducing aviation’s climate impact. But the high costs of sustainable aviation fuels compared with fossil fuels are a barrier to their production and use. The bill proposed by Reps. Schneider, Brownley, and Kildee aims to address this issue, while upholding rigorous international environmental standards and rewarding fuels with higher environmental integrity – the bigger the fuel’s climate benefit, the bigger the tax credit.” 

• Elizabeth Gore, Senior Vice President of Political Affairs, Environmental Defense Fund.